Cat Walks 12 Miles To Return To Family That Abandoned Him. Gets Rejected Again.

Taking on a pet is a huge responsibility. A pet becomes part of the family and they need care, food, and attention just like any other family member. So deciding to get rid of a pet, especially after so many years, is a pretty jarring decision. That happened to be the case with one family that owned a 7-year-old ginger cat. You won’t believe how this family chose to get rid of their cat and how he reacted afterwards.

20. Ginger Cat

Image: Bored Panda

Meet Toby, a 7-year-old ginger cat. Toby was a stray cat that one day showed up at his owner’s door. They decided to take him in but quickly realized that they didn’t have the space for him.

19. Not Getting Along

Image: iizcat.com

Toby’s owners began to notice that the cat wasn’t getting along with their other cats. It was then they decided that they could no longer keep Toby. So they came up with an idea.

18. 12 Miles

Image: Bored Panda

The owners drove 12 miles away to give Toby away to a new family. Toby was not happy about this and he couldn’t understand why he was abandoned. So he decided to do something about it.

17. A Long Walk

Image: Instagram/a.cat.named.toby

Toby decided that he couldn’t be without his family any longer so he embarked on a long journey. He walked the entire 12 miles back to his owner’s door. When they saw him at the door, however, their reaction wasn’t what Toby had expected…

16. Shocked

Image: Bored Panda

When Toby’s owners opened up the door to find Toby outside they were pretty much in shock. However, it wasn’t a positive shock at all. They were fed up with him and didn’t want him back at all!

15. Shelter

Image: Bored Panda

The owner’s decided to then take Toby over to a shelter. It was there they made a pretty serious decision and asked the shelter to euthanize the poor cat. However, the shelter couldn’t oblige.

14. Heartbreaking

Image: Bored Panda

“They took him to a shelter and asked them to euthanize him,” Tara Lynn, communications director for the SPCA of Wake County, told The Dodo. “It was just so heartbreaking to know he made it all the way back to his family, and that was their response.”

13. A Phone Call

Image: Bored Panda

The shelter told the family that they wouldn’t put Toby down and instead they made a phone call to The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Wake County. “The shelter called us at the SPCA to ask if we could take him in and help him find a new family. Of course, we said YES!”

12. Getting Care

Image: Instagram/a.cat.named.toby

Once Toby was at the SPCA, they went out of their way to take care of him. He was immediately brought to a vet so that he could be looked over. However, the vet didn’t have such great news about his health…

11. Health Problems

Image: Bored Panda

“He tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus, and also had an upper respiratory infection,” Lynn said. “We got him treated for the infection, which took a little while.” Even though Toby was sick, his personality still shined at the shelter.

10. Sweet Personality

Image: Bored Panda

Everyone working at the SPCA immediately fell in love with Toby. He was just so friendly and playful! Staff described him as a “cuddly boy with lots of love to go around.”

9. Loving

Image: Bored Panda

“He was very friendly,” Lynn said. “Just your sweet, typical cat — they want to get love and to love you.” Finally, Toby was starting to get better and was fully healed from his infection. That meant it was time to put him up for adoption!

8. Social Media

Image: The Dodo

The SPCA made a social media post all about Toby and his life story. Everyone that read the story fell in love with Toby, however, only one woman actually took the initiative to do something about it…

7. One Woman

Image: Bored Panda

One woman named Michele Puckett, of Raleigh, North Carolina, immediately took initiative when she saw the post about Toby. She just knew she had to have him and so she went over to the shelter to meet him. The connection happened instantly.

6. Instant Connection

Image: Instagram/a.cat.named.toby

“She had no hesitation whatsoever,” Lynn said about Puckett. “She was on a job site and just dropped everything to come here.” According to Michele, she knew right away that Toby was the perfect cat for her. Everything went smoothly from then on.

5. Adopted

Image: Bored Panda

Toby was officially adopted by Michele right after they met. Michele couldn’t wait to bring him home so that he could meet all of his new siblings. It was going to be a pretty full house!

4. Siblings

Image: Bored Panda

Toby now has two new cat siblings and two new human siblings. He has had no problems fitting in and everyone in the family absolutely loves him! “He is just so sweet, cuddly and loving,” Puckett told The Dodo.

3. Hard Thoughts

Image: Bored Panda

With Toby’s affection and loving nature, Michele has a hard time grasping how his original owners could have abandoned him so easily. “It’s really hard to understand how someone could have dropped him off to be put to death like they did,” she said.

2. Grateful

Image: Instagram/a.cat.named.toby

“It’s shocking, but we feel so grateful he was saved,” she said. Lynn from the shelter also feels the same way and hopes that Toby’s story will inspire others to go out and adopt animals from shelters.

1. Inspiring

Image: Instagram/a.cat.named.toby

“There are tons of pets who are easily discarded by their families or a breeder,” Lynn said. “I really hope he inspires other people to go out and adopt.” Now that Toby has a loving and caring family he no longer has to worry about ever being abandoned again!